Panasonic Canada Inc. has released a new Internet Protocol (IP) business communications server, one that it says is the most advanced of its fleet.

The KX-NS1000 server, released in Canada last month, is built on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and IP technology. That allows it to make calls over the Internet, data, and cellular networks. Using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, it can also handle up to 1,000 direct users at a time, or about 8,000 users across networks using the Q-SIG integration standard.

What may also come in handy is the ability to integrate smartphones and tablets into the server’s messaging system, along with voice and fax messages, e-mail and Microsoft Outlook.

Promising high-definition voice quality, software applications for customer interaction and conference bridges, the server was also designed to be flexible. That allows SMBs to customize it by adding other software applications.

After stumbling twice with offering productivity applications as a service, Microsoft Corp. is finally giving what those who dream of in a cloud service have always wanted: a full-featured Office 365. The company

Panasonic will launch smartphones that sync with its household appliances, including its ovens and rice cookers, from this summer. The two new phones, which will be available under domestic operator NTT DoCoMo, are

“Our phone systems and communications platforms are really focused on the SMB market,” said Stefan Berens, marketing manager for Panasonic Canada Inc. in a phone interview. This server is set apart from its competitors because it was specifically designed to be more cost-effective and tailored towards SMBs.

“What this [server] also offers is support for our existing system. So you can actually interconnect the new NS1000 with our older systems which go back more than 10 years ago,” he said.

“If a customer already has a Panasonic phone system, then most likely they can keep their desktop phones and maybe their wireless phones, but they get everything of the IP world.”

Berens estimates the cost of the KX-NS1000 server can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000, depending on the company’s needs and the features it purchases.

Candice is a graduate of Carleton University and has worked in several newsrooms as a freelance reporter and intern, including the Edmonton Journal, the Ottawa Citizen, the Globe and Mail, and the Windsor Star. Candice is a dog lover and a coffee drinker.